PI SCOOP … BANK OF AMERICA’S MACMILLAN TO U.S. BANK:Kevin MacMillan, formerly a leading Bank of America lobbyist and associate general counsel for regulatory and public policy, has taken his trade to U.S. Bank, where he’ll wear the titles of managing director of federal government relations and assistant general counsel. In an email to colleagues obtained by PI, “KMac” tells associates that he “will look forward to working with you in this new capacity." (The move, which officially took place this week, is new enough that MacMillan hasn’t even updated his LinkedIn profile as of late this morning: http://linkd.in/p38Phd)

MacMillan’s resume is mighty thick, as he has previously served as deputy assistant secretary of treasury for domestic finance and terrorist financing and intelligence and senior counsel to the House Financial Services Committee, where he focused on banking, corporate governance and international issues.

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LOBBYIST MEET-UP ATTRACTS LIVELY CROWD: Overlooking for a moment the $9 Beck’s Lights at the cash bar (ouch!), the conversations had at the Washington Network Group’s meet-up Thursday night proved to be plenty rich. PI was there to watch Bill Stokes, chairman of the Washington Network Group, hold court at the tony Occidental Grill & Seafood for three hours straight, pocketing dozens of business cards and chatting up the legions of lobbyists, public relations pros and political consultants of various flavors in attendance. Large, painted portraits of numerous presidents — William Howard Taft looked mighty sexy in his — lorded over the second-floor private room.

Among the attendees: Howard Marlowe, president of the American League of Lobbyists; Danielle Staudt Abe, new executive director of the American League of Lobbyists; Omar Franco, managing director of Becker & Poliakoff and Hispanic Lobbyists Association board member; LeeAnn Petersen, president of Women in Government Relations and Command Strategies LLC official; Theresa Henige Oland of Tech Savvy Public Affairs; AT&T consultant David Bushick; Beekeeper Group partner Shana Glickfield; certified public accountant Rekha Chatterjee; U.S. Senate staffer Angelina Bonilla; Carroll Publishing Executive Account Manager Antony Fletcher; CEO Update reporter William Ehart and reporters Rachelle Younglai and Kim Dixon of Reuters.

A glorious Friday to you on this, the final day of the third quarter fundraising period, when all federal candidates close their books and start compiling their receipts and expenditures ahead of the official Oct. 15 campaign finance fundraising deadline.

A number of candidates have already leaked out details of what they’ll report. Most notably, the Boston Globe is reporting that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will raise between $11 million and $13 million for the quarter. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) says he hauled in more than $5 million between July 1 and today. Expect more of this stuff in the coming days — except, perhaps, if you’re Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), whose finances are reportedly going to look about as good as a Grecian government checking account with Washington Mutual.

If, say, your name is Jim Messina, and, because you’re a really generous guy, you want to pass along an unreported, unpublished copy of President Barack Obama’s 3rd quarter report to PI, you’ll find us at dlevinthal@politico.com and apalmer@politico.com. We tweet at @ apalmerdc and @ davelevinthal. And if your name is something else, we’d still love for you to send us news tips, hints and suggestions about the wild world of campaign finance.

As for things even more wild, be sure to read PI all the way to the end today to find out who won our latest contest, which this week asks you about which notable pol is zipping around Washington in a gold-colored Mini Cooper.

Now, back to the day’s influence news …

CRUZ GETS CASH BOOST IN LONE STAR SENATE BID: Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz of Texas is receiving some financial love from Sen. Jim DeMint’s Senate Conservatives Fund leadership PAC. Federal records indicate the PAC this week spent more than $74,000 in support of Cruz, detailing the expenditures as “media production,” “email rentals” and “online processing.” Senate Conservatives Fund officials could not be immediately reached for more details on what the expenditures entail. Cruz, a former state solicitor, is running in a GOP primary in field that includes Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert.

QUARTET OF CONGRESSMEN FORM JOINT FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE: Calling it Defend the Majority Fund, Reps. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and Randy Forbes (R-Va.) have filed paperwork to form a federal joint fundraising committee. Donors to such a committee may have their money divvied up among the participants at the committee’s discretion, so long as federal contribution limits are adhered to. Nancy Watkins will serve as treasurer for the Tampa, Fla.-based committee.

SPEAKING OF EVENTS:DDC Advocacy hosted a reception Wednesday evening at Old Ebbitt Grill to officially welcome Sara Taylor Fagen to the DDCA team. Fagen joined DDCA earlier this month as a partner. Politicos who turned out for the event included: Ken Mehlman; Katherine Lugar from RILA; Michael Toner from Wiley Rein and Steve Cannon from Constantine Cannon.

PODESTA DOES DAILY SHOW: Will super lobbyist Tony Podesta agree to represent a family of four that has decided to incorporate? Watch this Daily Show clip to find out: http://bit.ly/qmFddf

PI ON XM, TALKING CAMPAIGN FINANCE: Campaign finance books for the third quarter close today, and while the numbers they contain won’t entirety become public until mid-October, Dave has a preview on what presidential candidates stand to gain (or lose) based on these figures. Listen as he talks with Tim Farley of Morning Briefing on Sirius XM radio’s P.O.T.U.S. channel: http://bit.ly/oQv23q

CONTEST WINNER! Earlier this week, we explained to you how a certain notable political figure was spotted popping out of his/her car — a golden-hued Mini Cooper with plates from an SEC Conference state. In a city of Town Cars, Cadillacs and Mercedes, a car like this certainly makes a statement. And your challenge was this: Guess who this person is, and explain why this particular ride is appropriate for him or her.

We’re jazzed to report that we received several winning entries. But alas, there can only be one winner of this week’s coveted PI contest prize: an authentic Dale Earnhardt American flag die cast toy car, seen here: http://bit.ly/oaiSqZ

And the winner is Hillary Maxwell of DDC Advocacy. She was the first to correctly identify the driver as Trent Lott. She’s an alumnae of Lott’s staff, to boot. In naming Lott, Maxwell notes, “I believe BMW (parent company of the Mini Cooper) has a plant in Mississippi.

Congratulations, Hillary. We hope you find a place of great honor for your prize, particularly one that doesn’t involve a trash can or Salvation Army donation box. In the meantime, enjoy our trio of honorable mentions from other contest entrants who correctly identified the former Senate majority leader:

• Brian Doory of CLS & Associates writes: It’s Trent Lott’s car. He had to find something to do with all the money he made selling his firm to Patton Boggs.”

• Sara Bonjean, president of Rose Strategies: “Is it former Sen. Trent Lott driving the Mini Cooper? He drives a smart, fuel-efficient vehicle, which is an intelligent decision in this economically difficult time. Why wouldn’t he drive a Mini in the same bold color as his Ole Miss Rebels?”

• Stacey R. Harms, manager of government affairs for the American Association for Homecare: “I’m guessing it’s Trent Lott in a Mini Cooper with Mississippi plates. I don’t have a good reason for why he would drive one, but here’s my best shot. He had a Cadillac that picked him up in front of his house every day when he was in the Senate. (I think the last one was green.) Now that he’s a lobbyist, he wanted a car that was less ostentatious so that his clients didn’t think that they were overpaying him. He probably also needed something small enough to fit in the area behind his row house on the Hill, so when he could no longer have a spot in the Senate lots he needed something smaller. Maybe he also likes the movie the Italian Job.”

THIS MAN HAS GUTS: Since we’ve already spilled gobs of digital ink over automobiles, here’s some more: Lobbyist Dave Wenhold of Miller/Wenhold Capitol Strategies had mentioned to PI that he proudly motors around D.C. in his Ford Mustang that sports a rather novel license plate — one you might expect earns him some dirty looks, angry honks and one-fingered salutes of a certain nature. We now have a visual, and see for yourself why Wenhold is the winner of PI’s ad hoc Lobbyist Medal of Bravery: http://yfrog.com/hwq6n4j

NEW POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES:

United States Peanut Political Action Committee of Washington — Treasurer: Robert L. Redding Jr.

Authors:

About The Author

Anna Palmer is a senior Washington correspondent for POLITICO and co-author of POLITICO’s Playbook, the most indispensable morning newsletter for the biggest influencers in politics.

Anna covers the world of Congress and politics, and has successfully chronicled the business of Washington insiders for years. Her stories take readers behind the scenes for the biggest fights in Washington as well as the 2016 election.

Prior to becoming POLITICO’s senior Washington correspondent, Anna was the co-author of the daily newsletter, POLITICO Influence, considered a must-read on K Street.

Anna previously covered House leadership and lobbying as a staff writer for Roll Call. She got her start in Washington journalism as a lobbying business reporter for the industry newsletter Influence. She has also worked at Legal Times, where she covered the intersection of money and politics for the legal and lobbying industry, first as a staff writer and then as an editor.

A native of North Dakota, Anna is a graduate of St. Olaf College, where she was executive editor of the weekly campus newspaper, the Manitou Messenger. She lives in Washington, D.C.

About The Author

Dave Levinthal reports on political influence issues for POLITICO. Before joining POLITICO, Dave worked for two years as editor of OpenSecrets.org at the Center for Responsive Politics, where he oversaw the Center's original journalism and provided analysis to hundreds of television, radio and print news outlets.

Between 2003 and 2009, Dave reported on Dallas City Hall for The Dallas Morning News, and from 2000 to 2002, covered the New Hampshire Statehouse for the Lawrence (Mass.) Eagle-Tribune. He graduated from Syracuse University with degrees in newspaper journalism and political philosophy and edited The Daily Orange.

Some may argue, but there is no more dedicated Bills fan than this Buffalo, N.Y., native.